Wontons

A couple weeks ago I made potstickers for Chinese New Year. Having gained some confidence in my ability to cook Chinese food, and because I had some leftover wonton wrappers, I decided to make wontons tonight. I made a few changes to the filling I made before which made it a million times better.

  Pork Wontons

1 package Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage (it’s so much more flavorful than the ground pork)
1/2 head Napa cabbage, thinly sliced
2/3 c green onions, thinly sliced
a couple shakes of soy sauce
a couple shakes of crushed red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
 wonton wrappers
 oil for frying (I used canola oil)

 Cook the breakfast sausage over medium heat until done and drain oil. Add the remaining ingredients (through garlic) and cook until greens are wilted. (note: I did not like the food processed filling in the potstickers I previously made so I skipped that step this time) Lay a wonton wrapper on a flat, dry surface and put a Tbsp of mixture inside. Using your fingers, wet edges and fold in half into a triangle. Press edges together well so filling will not fall out during frying.  Heat the skillet and then add oil. Add wontons, flip when the downside is golden brown.  Watch them closely as they cook quickly.  Enjoy!  

Japanese Cooking with Nanae

Our friend Nanae came over last night to teach us how to cook Japanese food.  The okonomi yaki was a new experience and was delicious.  We love sushi but our budget only allows for it once a month.  Now that we know how to make it at home we can enjoy it more often… if we can just find some eel sauce. 

 

Sushi  

2 c uncooked sushi rice

rice vinegard

seaweed

various items to roll inside- we used tuna, avocado, lettuce, salmon

 

Clean rice and cook in rice cooker.  Put rice in a glass or ceramic bowl and add rice vinegar to taste.  Let rice cool a bit.  Place a piece of seaweed on a sushi rolling mat.  Spread a thin layer of rice on top of seaweed, leaving approximately one inch at the top without rice.  Add other fillings (lettuce, salmon, avocado, tuna, etc) in the center of the seaweed.  Roll with mat and slice.   

 

 

Okonomi Yaki 

-okonomi yaki ko (powder)

-green cabbage (approx 3 leaves)

-okonomi sauce

-4 eggs

-thinly sliced pork (may use seafood or other meat)

  

1)   Wash and thinly slice cabbage.

2)   Mix 300 grams ko with 1 ½ cups water and 4 eggs.

3)   Add cabbage to flour mixture.

4)   Ladle onto griddle and cook at low temperature. 

5)   Place thinly sliced pork on top.  

6)   Flip when bottom is cooked (like pancake).

7)   Top with okonomi sauce and mayo.

Happy Chinese New Year!

I have never cooked Chinese food before but decided Chinese New Year would be the day to attempt something new. I have loved every one of Foodie Bride’s recipes I have tried and the pot stickers were no exception. The downside to cooking Chinese food at home was the smell- I think it must be the sesame oil that just sticks around.

Pork Potstickers

½ lb ground pork
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/3 cup chives
2/3 cup green onions
1 cup Napa cabbage, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Wonton wrappers (about 30)
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 recipe Orange Sesame dipping sauce, for serving (follows)

Cook the ground pork over medium heat until done. Add the remaining ingredients (through garlic) and cook until the greens are wilted nicely. Let mixture cool just a bit and add it to the bowl of a food processor. Process the filling until it reaches the desired consistency.

Lay a wrapper on a flat, dry surface put a Tbsp of mixture in in the middle. Using your fingers or a pastry brush (save the dirty-dish sink space – use your fingers), wet the wonton wrapper surrounding the filling and fold the dumpling, pressing the seams together: bring two opposite corners to the center, bring the remaining corners to the center one at a time and press tightly.

Add oil to a skillet (a clean skillet) and add dumplings. Add 1/3 cup water to the pan and cover tightly. Remove from heat when the dumplings are golden brown on one side (about 4 minutes). (**I did not care for the potstickers in oil so when I made the leftover ones I steamed them- so much better that way!)

Orange Sesame dipping sauce (measurements are approximate)
1 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp lite soy sauce
2 Tbsp chives
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp orange juice

Whisk together all ingredients, adjust seasoning to taste.

Pork Fried Rice  

*I cannot figure out where I got this recipe, so if it is yours please forgive me for not giving you credit. If you message me I will add a link to your blog.

1/2 lb ground pork
1 Tbsp vegetable oil 4 cups cooked rice, cold
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/3 cup carrots, chopped
(I added an extra 1/3 cup)
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup green peas
1 egg
2 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp soy sauce

Brown the pork over medium high heat, drain and set aside. Add vegetable oil to skillet over high heat, stir fry onions and rice. Add carrots and peas and stir fry for 2 minutes. Push rice to side. Whisk egg, pepper, and sesame oil and pour into skillet. Stir until egg is cooked and mix into the rice. Add pork and soy sauce, taste, and adjust seasoning as necessary.

Fortune Cookies

From marthastewart.com 

5 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 large egg whites
1 c superfine sugar (I make my own by putting sugar in the Magic Bullet)
1 c all-purpose flour, sifted
pinch of salt
3 Tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp almond extract
nonstick cooking spray

1) Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet liberally with cooking spray. Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat, set aside.

2) In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine egg whites and sugar, and beat on medium speed. Add flour and salt and beat until combined. Add butter, heavy cream, and almond extract and beat until well combined.

3) Pour 1 Tbsp of batter onto half of the baking sheet, and spread with the back of a spoon into a thin 5-inch circle; repeat on the other half of the baking sheet. Bake until edges of the cookie turn golden brown (approx 8 minutes).

** my cookies ended up way too big, use a small spoon

4) Transfer baking sheet to a heat-resistant surface. Working as quickly as possible, slide a spatula (an offset spatula, available at specialty kitchen shops, works best) under one of the cookies. Lift it up, and place it on a clean kitchen towel. Using your fingers, fold the cookie in half, pinching the top together to form a loose semicircle. Hold the cookie with your index fingers inserted at each open end, and slide your thumbs together along the bottom line. Press into the center of the cookie while bending the two open ends together and down to form the shape of a fortune cookie. This whole process should take about 10 seconds. Once the cookie hardens, which begins to happen almost immediately, you cannot fold it. Place the fortune cookie on the kitchen towel to cool, and shape the second cookie. Repeat until all the batter is used up. To speed up the process, bake four cookies at a time, staggering two cookie sheets by 4 minutes to give you time to shape. To avoid wasting batter, practice folding with a circle of paper first.

5) Write your message on a long strip of sturdy art paper, such as Japanese moriki. Thread the fortune through the cookie when it has cooled.

***I was busy making dinner and prepping lava cake for homegroup so I didn’t really take the time to figure out how to fold the cookies. They were quite delicious and I look forward to making them again when I have the time to focus on folding cookies and writing fortunes.